AVID HD PRE VS HD OMNI + x pre.!?? 10HDNative

[bacchus40]

well, I just spoke to Michael Grebe at SweetWater & I am very impressed!

wow, that's what i call customer service!! he had some very good suggestions for my current situation and I would like to run'em by y'all... my needs range from Drum & Bass, dance oriented production
at home, mixing in the box to actual live off the floor recording, usual drums, guitar, bass, vox.. metal, blues, rock.. alternative, etc.

going forward & wanting to work directly with AVID's interfaces I would like to stay close to home...
I am intrigued with the HD OMNI as it would really suit my home rig needs better, monitoring, midi, couple pres..
what have you... all in one package & i can trust what i'm listening to..

HD PRE is a nice option mostly for the studio when tracking but obviously the best bang for the buck is on HD OMNI as Avid has current bundle offers when coupled with HDNative which is my starting point!

I would like to get some feedback on the following.. as I have a week or two to make a final decision and get my new toys!!

OPTION ONE :

AVID HD/Native + AVID HD PRE {high quality pre-amps for tracking live off the floor, drums, guitar, bass, vox.. }

OPTION TWO :

AVID HD/Native + AVID HD OMNI +

a) 4-710d Four-Channel Universal Audio tone blend mic pre
b) ISA428 MkII Focusrite
c) ASP008 Eight Channel Variable mic pre


out of the 3 options above w/ Omni I am most intrigued with AU's offering.. tube pre!! a great option for drums, guitar, bass, vox.!! what have you.. I would still have line ins for scratch tracks n' all & yet much better sounding drums of course.!

as always, any info is greatly appreciated!... pc is brand new, lga2011 socket i7 3820 3.6Ghz, 16GB ram, evga 570HD 2.5GBvid ram, SSD boot drive... yah, its faast!
I should say, the HD OMni route is very attractive as I can get going with current D&B projects and look at my other options down the line as deals pop up.!

[CME]

You can eventually expand and add other interfaces. If you like the omni go for it. It seems to be a really nice piece. Great pres/conversion, built-in monitor controller, ect. However it's only 8 channels of I/O. So you may need another interface for band recordings.


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[Bill Denton]

OPTION ONE :

AVID HD/Native + AVID HD PRE {high quality pre-amps for tracking live off the floor, drums, guitar, bass, vox.. }

I think you might need to do a bit more researching vis a vis this option...

As the HD Pre is only a set of preamps, you will also need an Avid HD I/O interface ($4,000 US +/-) and some sort of monitor controller.

While the general consensus is that while the Pre is a quite decent unit, and it has the advantage of being remote controllable from Avid's C|24 and Icon control surfaces, I think most here would tell you that there are preamps that might be more suitable for your needs, and probably for less money.

There's a variety of ways to research this stuff on the web, but the best way is to go to the manufacturer's web sites and download the manuals for the equipment you are considering.

Good luck...

[albee1952]

Yes indeed. 2 important details here. #1, as mentioned, the Avid preamp is nothing BUT an 8 channel preamp, and must feed an interface. #2- the Omni, as cool as it is, is 8 channels ONLY!!! Despite it having lightpipe and enough connections for 14 sources(directly to monitors) it only allows 4 8 audio paths into a Pro Tools session(if it would do all 14, they would have sold another 10,000 of them by now).

So, my suggestion is:
HD/Native with HD IO 8x8x8
Add the UA 4-710 preamp(patched to the lightpipe input on the 8x8x8)
When money permits, add 4 more mic preamps to the UA unit(I would look at the API 3124 or the Vintech 473)
Or go with the Omni to get started with basic inputs(2 mic preamps) and add on later.

[bacchus40]

thanks guys, yeah the HDPre doesnt seem to be a viable option at this point, as you say.. its only pres... and at that cost.. there are much nicer units available.. probably for less $..

so, question in regards to the HD Omni, I really like all the options the unit has, coupled with the HDNative card as a package... it really is hard to pass up...

In regards to it being an 8 i/o... bare with me as i'm trying to wrap my brain around it...

1. can track a couple scratch tracks with the pre-amps on the OMni yes, guitar & vox ?
2. patch in the UA 4-710D via lightpipe ie 4 tube pres {mics off drum kit} ?
3. patch in two Di onto UA 4-710d which is already in via lightpipe..

total 8 tracks in at one time!? monitor stereo off HD Omni & one or two more mixes for headphones?


I do enjoy tracking off the floor but i find most musicians I work with, its best to get the bed tracks done,
starting with drums & slowly build your mix on seperate takes.. bass, then guitars & last vox of course...

i've done this several times & for those inexperienced with the process has given me best results...

thanks for the follow up.. as you say, i can add other interfaces down the line...
the package is worth it for what i need... assuming im' looking at it correctly....

[nst7]

You can use the built in Omni preamps for finished tracks, as they are very good preamps. They are neutral sounding, but nice and detailed. The DI's on them are very good as well.

You can then use the other 2 analog inputs (line ins) if you have 2 more preamps (or 1 two channel preamp). Then you can use something with lightpipe such as the UA 710, or ISA 428 with digital card, into the Adat inputs.

It's any combination of analog and digital, up to 8 inputs. So you could use the 4 analog ins, 2 channels Adat, and 2 channels Spidf, or you could use 6 channels of Adat and 2 channels of analog, any combination like that.

As for outputs, you have a little more flexibility. For the headphone out jack, there is a hardwired output cue mix function. This shows up in Protools software as output 9-10. You can send a separate mix to that, and press the cue button near the headphone jack and it will send that mix. If the cue button is not pressed, the headphones will output the same main mix that is going through your monitors. So there's some flexibility there. With either method, you can run a cable from that jack into some type of headphone splitter box for running more headphones for people.

Alternatively, you can use the line outs of the Omni into some kind of headphone mixer unit, or something like the Hearback system.

You would designate outputs 1-2 for you monitors (which runs them through the monitor section, allowing volume control and mute, etc.). Then you would have the remaining 6 analog outs as line outs for running to a headphone mixer, etc. Besides the dedicated cue mix for the Omni headphone jack. Or you could use the Adat outs into something like the Hearback system.

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by nst7

You can use the built in Omni preamps for finished tracks, as they are very good preamps. They are neutral sounding, but nice and detailed. The DI's on them are very good as well.

You can then use the other 2 analog inputs (line ins) if you have 2 more preamps (or 1 two channel preamp). Then you can use something with lightpipe such as the UA 710, or ISA 428 with digital card, into the Adat inputs.

It's any combination of analog and digital, up to 8 inputs. So you could use the 4 analog ins, 2 channels Adat, and 2 channels Spidf, or you could use 6 channels of Adat and 2 channels of analog, any combination like that.

As for outputs, you have a little more flexibility. For the headphone out jack, there is a hardwired output cue mix function. This shows up in Protools software as output 9-10. You can send a separate mix to that, and press the cue button near the headphone jack and it will send that mix. If the cue button is not pressed, the headphones will output the same main mix that is going through your monitors. So there's some flexibility there. With either method, you can run a cable from that jack into some type of headphone splitter box for running more headphones for people.

Alternatively, you can use the line outs of the Omni into some kind of headphone mixer unit, or something like the Hearback system.

You would designate outputs 1-2 for you monitors (which runs them through the monitor section, allowing volume control and mute, etc.). Then you would have the remaining 6 analog outs as line outs for running to a headphone mixer, etc. Besides the dedicated cue mix for the Omni headphone jack. Or you could use the Adat outs into something like the Hearback system.

REALLY appreciate your post on this. lookin' at the Omni and 8x8x8 tryin' figure out which way to go. and if i go Omni then do i get rid of my Benchmark DAC1. so between your post and the 11/2010 review of the Omni in SOS mag i'm gettin' clearer...and closer

FWIW...http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov10/articles/omni.htm

[nst7]

You can certainly get rid of the DAC if you get the Omni, as the Omni would sound as good or better. You might consider the HD IO 8x8 if you think you would need the extra inputs.

The Omni has a few extra nifty features like a built in mixer so you can, for example, use a CD player with digital outs into it and hear it without having to create a track in Protools.

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by nst7

You can certainly get rid of the DAC if you get the Omni, as the Omni would sound as good or better. You might consider the HD IO 8x8 if you think you would need the extra inputs.

The Omni has a few extra nifty features like a built in mixer so you can, for example, use a CD player with digital outs into it and hear it without having to create a track in Protools.

that's kinda my thinkin' too. if i went 8x8x8 i could just put a Mackie Big Knob in-between the it and my monitors. the only thing that's killin' me about the Omni is how they limited the simultaneous I/O on it...sux!!

[CME]

Originally Posted by mykhal c

(snip)
the only thing that's killin' me about the Omni is how they limited the simultaneous I/O on it...sux!!

Yep. Had they made it a 16x16 interface I may have gone HD|Native. Instead I went Metric Halo. No complaints.


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